Tag Archives: Joe Ricketts

On November 6, 2017, the staff of DNAinfo and the Gothamist rallied in NY City Hall Park, in the name of independent journalism. This was after the abrupt shutdown by the owner, founder and CEO, Joe Ricketts. (Ricketts was not only chief executive officer of DNAInfo and Gothamist but also the founder of TD Ameritrade)

Mayor de Blasio and several city officials expressed support for WGAE’s organizing drive … de Blasio called Ricketts a “coward” for shutting the sites down.

“Ricketts shut down all DNAInfo and Gothamist affiliated websites (including DCist and SFist) a week after the National Labor Relations Board conducted a formal vote that resulted in DNAInfo New York and Gothamist employees joining the Writers Guild of America East. The Workers voted to join the union in April, but Ricketts didn’t recognize the union. The NLRB required management to begin collective bargaining with the union. Ricketts shut the sites down instead.” [amsterdam news]”

In September of 2017,Ricketts blogged about why he doesn’t like unions, “I believe unions promote a corrosive us-against-them dynamic that destroys the esprit de corps businesses need to succeed” which might explain why he would choose to close these businesses before they might fail.”

The 30 reporters and editors… proudly wearing their NYPD press badges, said the move was devastating to the New York City communities they covered. “This is an attack on the millions of people who depend on our reporting.” … Ricketts shut down both news outlets — costing 116 reporters and editors around the country their jobs.” [amny]

Brief Flickr slide show (much more to see in the youtube playlist)

Is Joe Rickett’s guilty of Union-Busting? Does a business owner have the right to CHOOSE how he spends his capital? Should union thuggery be legal?

Arrived early, so I decided to cover a community center presser that was in process on the steps of City Hall.

This was the birthday of the late Armando Perez, co-founder of Charas/El Bohio.

Today the LES/EV Community celebrated Mayor de Blasio’s announcement to “re-acquire” this building. deBlasio came through for this community, ‘giving back’ a building (once a school/community center) sold by Giuliani over ten years ago.

“For too long, the old PSD 64/Charas-El Bohio set empty, abandoned, left to rot by an unscrupulous developer only interested in … seeing this beloved landmark destroyed. de Blasio needs to put deeds behind his words; bring this treasured community resource back to its rightful place serving the people of the Lower East Side (LES) and the City of New York.” (Andrew Berman, Exec Dir East Village Community Coalition)

This was a familiar Leftist presser. Home-grown activism. Colorful signs. Handmade (by someone). A papier mache mask (that does not appear to be ‘factory made’). A celebration told through community activism – an out-reach meant for the immigrant community – making them loyal (democrat) party voters.

Flicker Slide show

But, WHERE was the writer guild protest? Oops. It was City Hall PARK, not City Hall steps.
And there they were. The Writers Guild East pro-union presser behind impenetrable barricades. Had to take a walk around the park to join them.

This woman was our HINT: Protest INSIDE Park – HERE.

Once there, i found a sea of press-badges shilling for a “Free Press”.

Surrounded by writers and editors pushing, jockeying for the best spot to film, take pictures, to cheer each other on.

“When the employees unionized around a week ago, DNAinfo reporter Katie Honantold The New York Times that, “No one’s trying to bankrupt anybody.” She added, “We just want to have an ability to negotiate things and not necessarily money.” [Mashable]

Stringer impressed some with the “novel” idea that the “workers take control”. Run the shop. Create jobs. The greedy business owner has NO RIGHTS. No right to close “their” business. To open their business? Nor run their business. And definitely NO right to CHOOSE to be a non-union shop. On and On…and ON.

“FUCK Ricketts,” said a writers guild rep Brendan O’Connor. “If you are not organized in your workplace, get organizing. The workers have the power apart from the union, apart from our elected officials. It’s the worker that decides what happens in this town and this country if we use our power. What happened last week is a single event in a decades long war against workers. It is class warfare.”